New York State voters support a proposed property tax cap 79 - 17 percent and in another
question 46 percent say this should be the top priority for Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the State
Legislature, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

The independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds strong support for
several other issues pending in Albany:

56 - 38 percent for a law allowing same-sex couples to marry;

51 percent for a commission independent of the State Legislature to draw district lines
for members of Congress and the legislature, with 29 percent supporting a commission
with some input from the legislature and 12 percent for allowing the legislature to
continue drawing district lines;

55 - 40 percent for requiring legislators who practice law to disclose their clients.

But voters oppose 52 - 41 percent public financing for state elections.

Asked which of these items should be the top priority:

46 percent want the property tax cap;

29 percent want ethics reform;

7 percent want redistricting reform;

6 percent want same-sex marriage.

"New Yorkers think property tax relief should be the Number One legislative priority
now that the state budget is out of the way," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac
University Polling Institute.

"Next on the list is governmental ethics. Same-sex marriage? Political re-districting?
Voters support these ideas, but they want that tax cap first.

"An independent commission should draw the legislative and congressional district lines,
most voters think, but a fairly good number would have some legislative input in the process."

"Ethics questions get complicated. Most New Yorkers think lawyer-legislators should list
their clients. A small majority oppose public financing of campaigns," Carroll added.

Support for same-sex marriage is 70 - 25 percent among Democrats and 60 - 35 percent
among independent voters, with Republicans opposed 61 - 34 percent. Men support the measure
52 - 43 percent and women support it 61 - 34 percent.

New York State voters say 82 - 14 percent that teacher layoffs should be based on
performance rather than seniority, matching the 85 - 12 percent finding in a February 24
Quinnipiac University poll. Even voters in union households support performance-based layoffs
67 - 28 percent.

By a 49 - 25 percent margin, voters have a favorable opinion of public school teachers,
but they say 49 - 42 percent that teacher unions play a negative rather than a positive role in
improving the state's education system.

Public school teachers who do an outstanding job should be rewarded with merit pay,
voters say 67 - 30 percent. But firing bad teachers should be easier, voters say 64 - 31 percent.

"New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's call to end LIFO, the last-in-first-out
system for deciding how teachers should be laid off, wins solid approval. New Yorkers like the
people who teach their kids, not their unions," Carroll said.

Support for rent regulation is 68 - 26 percent among New York City voters, 57 - 35
percent among suburban voters and 52 - 37 percent among upstate voters.

Pensions for local government employees should be negotiated by local officials rather
than set by the State Legislature, voters say 50 - 38 percent, including 53 - 38 percent in union
households.

From April 5 - 11, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,704 registered voters with a margin
of error of +/- 2.4 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones.

The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public
opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio and the
nation as a public service and for research.
For more data or RSS feed- http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, call (203) 582-5201, or
follow us on Twitter.

15. Some people have said that New York State government is dysfunctional.
Do you agree or disagree?

TREND: Do you support or oppose public financing of campaigns for governor,
other statewide offices and the state legislature?

Apr 14 Jan 27
2011 2011
Support 41 40
Oppose 52 51
DK/NA 7 9

20. Who do you think should draw the district lines by which members of the
state legislature and Congress are elected - the state legislature, a commission
that has no connection to the state legislature, or an independent commission
with some legislative input?

22. Now that the budget is passed, which of the following issues do you think
should be the top priority for the governor and legislature? -Same-sex marriage,
property tax cap, ethics reform, or redistricting?

29. As you may know, the state government sometimes requires local governments
to adopt programs and regulations, known as state mandates. Do you think there
are too many state mandates on local governments, too few state mandates on
local governments, or about the right amount?